[Nairobi and Pretoria, February 23, 2023]: AATF and the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) have today announced a five-year partnership agreement aimed at accelerating Africa’s pursuit to eradicate poverty, hunger, and malnutrition and improve the general well-being of its people through their joint contribution to the creation of an enabling environment.
The agreement will establish and promote policy research and analysis to support the development of a conducive policy environment for a food-secure Africa. In addition, it will leverage the expertise and resources of the two organizations to support the implementation of agricultural and food security programs across the African continent. Effectively, the partnership will focus on increasing food production, improving access to markets, and promoting economic growth in rural areas.
“We are thrilled to join forces with FANRPAN to tackle the pressing challenges of poverty, hunger and malnutrition in Africa through progressive policy engagement to support African Union (AU) agenda on agricultural transformation and rural economy,” said Dr. Canisius Kanangire, Executive Director of AATF.
Through the collaboration, AATF will engage with FANRPAN member states and partners to advocate for the centrality of technologies in the agricultural transformation agenda and create a more sustainable food system for all in Africa.
He noted that African farmers can make incredible progress—and many are—but they often lack the tools, technologies, and knowledge to become more productive and profitable.
“Investing in new farming technology for Africa—from better seeds to digital tools to machinery—is our best opportunity for transforming African agriculture into an engine of economic growth that will have benefits far beyond the farm sector,” he said.
FANRPAN Chief Executive Officer & Head of Mission Dr Tshilidzi Madzivhandila added, “By partnering with AATF, we will leverage each organization’s competitive advantage for improvement of Africa’s agricultural vision and agenda by bringing together the best minds in agriculture and food security to create an enabling environment for adoption of agricultural technologies in Africa. We recognize the challenges in agricultural technology policy and investment, and we are putting our efforts together to close the gap, including through our national and regional multi-stakeholder policy dialogue platforms,” he observed.
“FANRPAN believes that it will realize this vision of resilient African agriculture and food systems, securing prosperity and health for all, by transforming African agriculture and food systems through the development and implementation of evidence-based policy frameworks,” he stated.
The collaboration will see AATF and FANRPAN advance technology and policy investment in agricultural transformation, including the development of policies and programs on food security and agricultural productivity.
########
About AATF (www.aatf-africa.org)
Founded in 2003 to address Africa’s food security prospects through agricultural technology, AATF believes that the agricultural sector is a key foundational pillar as Africa consolidates its economic growth and carves out its new position as a major global economic powerhouse and the next growth market in the world. It was formed in response to the need for an effective mechanism that would facilitate and support negotiation for technology access and delivery and the formation of appropriate partnerships to manage the development & deployment of innovative technologies for use by smallholder farmers in SSA:
About FANRPAN
The Food Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) is an autonomous stakeholder-driven policy research, analysis, and implementation network that was formally established in 1997 in Harare, Zimbabwe, and in 2010 was mandated to work in all African countries. The FANRPAN policy network was formed in response to a call made by Agriculture Ministers in the Eastern and Southern Africa region for a network that could provide independent evidence to inform policy harmonization at the regional level. The network is representative of government, farmer organisations, researchers, the private sector, Parliamentarians, and the media. The network currently works in 17 countries: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; with new nodes are soon to be established in East and West Africa. The FANRPAN Regional Secretariat is in Pretoria in the Republic of South Africa, where it is hosted by the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development.
For more information contact:
George Achia, Communications Officer, East and Southern Africa, AATF; G.achia@aatf-africa.org; +254 785 334163
